All in readiness for the final bout of South Africa's all-format tour of India. The two umpires are already out in the middle and the Protea players also make their way out to the middle. Abhishek Sharma is reunited with Sanju Samson at the top of the order for India today. It will be Lungi Ngidi who will get the first bite at the new ball and he is raring to go. Let's play...
South Africa (Playing XI) - Quinton de Kock (WK), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (C), Dewald Brevis, David Miller (In for Tristan Stubbs), Donovan Ferreira, George Linde (In for Anrich Nortje), Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman.
India (Playing XI) - Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (In for Shubman Gill), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Washington Sundar (In for Kuldeep Yadav), Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah (In for Harshit Rana), Varun Chakaravarthy.
India's skipper, Suryakumar Yadav says they were looking to bat first as they don't expect the wicket to change much. Adds that he doesn’t expect dew to play a big role and says that they will look to put runs on the board and then defend the total. Suryakumar mentions that it already feels like a full house and calls it the most beautiful stadium, saying he hopes the team can put on a show. Shares that the focus is on taking as much as possible from this game and continuing to play fearless cricket. In terms of changes, he informs that Jasprit Bumrah comes in for Harshit Rana, while Washington Sundar replaces Kuldeep Yadav and Shubman Gill, who picked up a niggle in Lucknow, is replaced by Sanju Samson.
The South African skipper, Aiden Markram, says that they will bowl first and reckons that the wicket looks good and they are hoping for some dew later on. Adds that they are looking forward to the game today and they also have a few matches at this venue in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Further says that they want to level the series and want to finish on a positive note. Ends by saying that he doesn't quite remember what the combination was in the 3rd game but George Linde does come in for Anrich Nortje.
TOSS - Aiden Markram calls it correctly, and South Africa have elected to BOWL first.